Wild Horse and Burro Program

About the Wild Horse and Burro Program

The public lands of the Western United States are diverse, ruggedly beautiful and majestic - as are the horses and burros that live there. These animals are born with the colors of the land upon them. The browns, blacks, reds, blues, dapple grays, and snowy whites all reflect nature's paint-brush.

As early as the 1600's, horses and burros were released by or escaped from Spanish explorers. As America's west was settled, additional horses and burros from American Indians, settlers, miners, ranchers and soldiers established the foundations of today's wild horse and burro herds. Wild herds like these symbolize our western heritage and pioneer spirit.

Today, America's wild horses and burros are found in 10 western states. It is the BLM's responsibility to preserve and protect healthy herds of wild, free-roaming horses and burros as components of the public lands. The Wild Horse Annie Act of 1959 and the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 gave wild horses and burros a legal right to live on public lands without harassment. The Adopt-A-Horse or Burro Program was initiated in 1973 to meet the challenges of balancing the health of public lands with the health of the wild horses and burros.

BLM invites you to adopt a living legend!

News

Oklahoma Field Office Says Thanks to a Special Group of VolunteersThe students in Ms. Conallis’s special needs class at Moore High School in Moore, Okla., are always eager to lend a hand in support of BLM’s Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Program. The students volunteer their time to prepare adoption application packets and other materials for use by the Oklahoma Field Office.

BLM Offers Trained Wild Horses For $125 Through Prison PartnershipThrough a joint partnership with the Kansas Department of Corrections, Kansas Correctional Industries, and the Mustang Heritage Foundation (MHF), the BLM offers gentled wild horses for adoption at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility in Hutchinson, Kansas, for just $125 (the minimum fee set by law).

Student Video About Mustangs Debuts on YouTube"Free to Roam? The Mustang Debate" is a new YouTube video that describes the debate over wild horses and burros. While the debate has spawned many articles and videos, what's unusual about this video is that the producer is a 12-year-old student, Brigit Brown, of Moriarty, New Mexico.

U.S. Border Patrol Recently Added to Their Growing Stock of BLM MustangsThe U.S. Border Patrol recently added to their growing stock of BLM mustangs pulling tough duty along our nation's borders. The agency recently adopted six mustangs from BLM at the Hutchinson Correctional Facility (HCF) in Hutchinson, Kan. The mustangs were gathered from BLM-administered public lands out west and transported to HCF to be trained by inmates in a special rehabilitation program there.

BLM Offers $500 Wild Horse Adoption IncentiveAdopters of selected adult horses can receive a $500 allowance to help offset the cost of keeping the animal. The program aims to increase placement of older horses into private ownership, greatly reducing BLM's holding costs, enabling more effective management of horses on the range.

The BLM New Mexico's wild horse and burro adoption team based in Moore, Oklahoma, conducts 12-15 adoptions per year throughout its four-state region: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas (Schedule). Adoptions are also held monthly at the BLM's regional holding facility in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma. Visitors to one of these adoption events can expect to find a wide selection of animals available. There are usually about 40 head (+/-) roughly split between male/female and adult/yearling. Adult horses typically range in age from 2-5 years. Burros may be slightly older in some cases. American mustangs come in a full array of colors and markings. Though most tend to be solid (bay, black, brown, sorrel), it is not uncommon to find other varied colors such as paints, roans, palominos, buckskins, grays, and albinos.